


12495 kilometers (7764 miles)

by cafe_au_late, Kuro_Ko, LinaLuthor, Sephirron, writingwithmolls



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dorothea’s ghosts, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Multi, Soft Dorks, betaed we don't die like odessa, non-binary ingrid, polyam - Freeform, road trip au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26343460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafe_au_late/pseuds/cafe_au_late, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuro_Ko/pseuds/Kuro_Ko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinaLuthor/pseuds/LinaLuthor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirron/pseuds/Sephirron, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingwithmolls/pseuds/writingwithmolls
Summary: With Jeralt not able to go on a roadtrip with his family, the keys to the motor home are passed to Byleth with the wishes for her to take the trip with the rest of her family. Convincing her partners proved to be the easier part of the process, but now the five of them find themselves on the open road, nothing but Byleth’s strange taste in music and each other to keep them company.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Dorothea Arnault/My Unit | Byleth, Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg/ My Unit | Byleth/ Dorothea Arnault/ Petra Macneary/ Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/Petra Macneary, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/My Unit | Byleth, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Petra Macneary, Petra Macneary/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	12495 kilometers (7764 miles)

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a gift to server mom, Avaryss_Ashley!! Happy Birthday!

“Mom? Dad?” Byleth called out, peeking her head around the front door of the Eisner house. The house was warm in the afternoon sun, light beaming brightly through the large windows along the back of the house. There was nobody immediately in sight. Byleth stepped into the house and locked the front door behind her, her keys jingling noisily in her hand as she did.

“By?” Sitri appeared, dressed in a blue and white apron, dual wielding a large chef’s knife and a sharpening stick. “Your dad’s in the back. He’s grumpy.”

“Is he okay?” Byleth asked, eyeing the dangerous objects in her mom’s hands warily. Sometimes her mom could start talking animatedly with her hands, forgetting what she was holding in her hands.

“Yeah. He’ll be complaining about it for a long time. He. Will. Be Fine.” Sitri yelled loudly and clanged the knife against the sharpening stick a few times for emphasis. “You better go see him.”

Byleth nodded and headed deeper into the house. Her dad kept a small greenhouse in the back, built into the sunroom. She knew that’s where she’d find him, tending to his plants, basking in the afternoon sun.

He looked to be deep thought as he watered a plant.

“Dad?” Byleth asked softly so she wouldn’t startle him.

Jeralt looked up, surprised to suddenly see her at the door. “Kid. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I can tell,” Byleth said dryly as she sat down in the folding chair next to him. 

His right leg was propped up on a stool, wrapped densely in plaster. Her mom had already drawn a cute little heart on the cast with a green marker. A pair of crutches lay on the floor next to him.

“How bad is it?” Byleth frowned at the leg.

“Real bad.” Jeralt sighed. “I gotta get surgery eventually, and then physio and lots of other things.” 

Both father and daughter stared at the broken leg.

“What did you even do?” Byleth finally asked after a moment.

“I kicked the bucket.” 

Byleth just looked at him blankly.

“I thought the old tin bucket out in the backyard was empty so I kicked it. But your mom had filled it with rocks that she was planning on using to decorate the pond with,” Jeralt explained sheepishly. 

“You didn’t think to look in the bucket?” Byleth reached out with a finger to try to poke the cast but Jeralt slapped her hand away before she could even get close.

“I was carrying a lot of stuff and my arms were full—look I’m not here to explain myself to you,” Jeralt groused. “I called you over here to tell you that we can’t go on our little trip together this summer.” 

_ Oh. _

Every summer, Jeralt would load up his trusty motor home and they would take a few weeks just travelling across Fódlan. This year was going to be special. There was a huge once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower happening and they had planned to drive across Fódlan all the way to Fódlan’s throat, up in the mountains to see it.

Byleth did her best to keep her face composed and not to let her disappointment show. She had really been looking forward to this trip. “Okay.” She shifted in her chair uncomfortably suddenly charged with a strange sort of energy that she wanted to go and burn off. Anything to take her mind off of the pit of disappointment settling at the bottom of her stomach.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t go on the trip though, kid. I know you were really looking forward to it. Why don’t you just take your girls and drive out there to see the meteor showers?” 

“Take my girls?” Byleth repeated blankly. “But this is our family trip.”

“Yeah and... ? You’re in a relationship with your girls, therefore your girls are family too. Go do the family trip with them. It’ll be a little vacation. You all are graduated now. It’ll be some fun before you have to sell your soul to make a decent living.” Jeralt reached over to tousle her hair fondly. “Your mom and I will be okay here. Just send us a lot of pictures, yeah?”

“We already make a decent living, dad.” Byleth just sat there, letting him mess with her hair, feeling like a child again. “You’re really okay with me doing this trip without you?”

“Yes, kid. The motor home keys are hanging from the hook in the kitchen. I got it all ready last week, you just have to stock it up.” 

Byleth already wasn’t listening to Jeralt—her mind was hundreds of miles away driving through twisting mountain highways and wide, open deserts. 

A road trip with her girls. 

_ Her family. _

Now to convince them.

* * *

“El? Is everyone else at home?” Byleth craned her neck so that she could peer up the side of the apartment building at the balcony of the apartment that she shared with her girls.

_ “By? Yeah. We’re all home. Ingrid just got in.” _

“Could you all come downstairs? I’m out in the parking lot. There’s something we should talk about.” If Byleth had been in the apartment, she would have been able to see the worried look that Edelgard gave Petra. They were sitting next to one another on the couch, and Petra frowned when she overhead Byleth’s words through the phone.

Her four girls showed up at the door of the motor home a few minutes later, all looking confused as to why the hulking vehicle was parked in front of their apartment building. Byleth welcomed them into the vehicle with a serious expression. This was a serious matter—their first major vacation together as a  _ family _ , maybe, if they all agreed to go.

It was a bit of a tight fit, squeezing all five of them around the little table in the center of the motor home—it realistically should sit four. Two people on each little bench seat, so Byleth bounced up onto the table between her girls, legs crossed in front of her as she scooted all the way back so that her back could rest against the wall of the motor home.

She watched as all four of them looked around the well-worn motor home with some curiosity and interest. It was a nice space. Jeralt had taken good care of the vehicle and added various upgrades over the years. Byleth had spent many summers in the motor home, travelling from city to city, point of interest to point of interest. The motor home had served as a second home for Byleth for quite a few years and held many good memories for her. She hoped that she could make more good memories, but with her girls this time.

“I was thinking that you were not leaving on your trip with your father for a few weeks?” Petra poked at the side of Byleth’s knee, just under the nasty scar that Byleth got from helping Ferdinand and Hubert install a precariously built cat tower in their apartment. (The cat tower fell onto her.)

“Yeah, about that…” Byleth picked at a loose thread along the bottom of her Wooloo shorts, “dad and I aren’t going any more.” 

“What? Why?” Dorothea tilted forward, her shoulders brushing Edelgard’s in the small space around the motor home’s table.

“Dad kicked the bucket.”

The silence that followed was deafening. No one knew exactly what to do or say, their faces frozen in expressions of shock for a rather long time, to the point that Byleth tilted her head as if asking them a quiet question. That tension was not what she had expected, especially since she had yet to say her request.

“I am so sorry, Byleth.” Ingrid broke the silence first. They reached out to squeeze Byleth’s other knee in a gesture of comfort. Looking to Byleth’s blue wide eyes, they tried to find in her any sign of grief or weakness to comfort.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Edelgard took her hand gently, cradling her fingers in her hands in an attempt to comfort her partner. Byleth’s knuckles and palm were callous, yet the source of a warmth that filled their days and nights. Edelgard would be there for her.

“Yes, how is your mom holding up?” Dorothea asked, attempting to get Byleth to look towards her, but her partner looked away. “Does she need help with the funeral arrangements? Food delivery so she doesn’t have to cook as much?”

“I am not having understanding. Are you having funerals for buckets too?” Petra’s violet tattoo shifted as she spoke, conveying the same surprised expression as her vivid eyes.

“Funeral?” Byleth echoed, bringing her head up to look up at them. She couldn’t remember anyone dying as of recently, much less someone in her family. Why would her mom need all the extra care? She was just there. Byleth frowned, confused.

“Petra,” Ingrid hissed under their breath. “Kicked the bucket means that someone  _ died _ .”

“Oh. I am seeing now. This is all being very confusing.”

Petra blinked, looking at Byleth as understanding failed to dawn on her, still lost in the nooks and crannies of a language that wasn't hers. The woman sitting on top of the table saw the question in her violet, intelligent eyes, and something in her mind clicked.

Byleth paused, mind rewinding over all the information that had just been unloaded on her.

Oh.

_ Oh. _

“No no no no no no... Dad  _ actually  _ kicked the bucket. Like the old tin bucket behind our house that we let Edelgard stand on top of so that she could reach the apples from the tree?” Byleth backpedalled frantically, trying her best to dispel their concern. “Mom filled it with rocks for her new koi pond and dad kicked it.”

The silence that followed spoke volumes.

“Dad broke his leg.”

Ingrid slapped their face with their free hand so hard Petra flinched upon hearing it.

“Byleth! Kicked the bucket means someone died!” Edelgard exclaimed, letting go of her hand so suddenly it fell to the table with a loud  _ thud.  _

“This is being news to me,” Petra mumbled, interested with that choice of words. The way people spoke in Fódlan had never ceased to amaze her, no matter how long she had been there. 

It felt like a long time since she had moved there. Even so, during that time she had stayed mostly behind the walls of Garreg Mach and then their apartment in Enbarr, after graduation. She wondered how much more of the continent there was to see outside of those places. 

“Dad told  _ me  _ he kicked the bucket! I’m just repeating what he told me.”

“I swear both of you are going to make  _ me _ kick the bucket.” Dorothea groaned, putting her head down on the table. “Honey,  _ please _ .” 

“So can I say he kicked  _ a  _ bucket?” Byleth asked, tilting her head and crossing her arms.

“No, that’s still—just no, please.” Dorothea shook her head for emphasis. It just felt too wrong, even with that little change. 

“Okay. Well, I just wanted to let you all know that dad and I can’t go on our summer trip anymore.” Byleth pouted, her sadness making the others soften up a bit.

Sure, she had scared them, but still. It was their sweet, dorky Byleth they were talking about, too. The Byleth who always supported them and made them laugh whenever they were having a bad day.

“At least Jeralt isn’t dead?” Ingrid commented, rolling their eyes and taking their hand away from Byleth’s knee. Though, kicking a bucket full of rocks did  _ not  _ sound fun.

“I was wondering,” Byleth paused, hesitating before her next words, “if you all would go on this trip with me instead?” 

She watched their various, different reactions at that. Some frowned, deep in thought, more than likely already calculating details and arrangements that the adventure would need. Others seemed to consider it in a more thoughtful way, grinning instead of expressing resistance. It was better than having four sets of eyes regarding her with something like disbelief all at once.

“Isn’t your trip in like two weeks? And isn’t it a whole month long?” Edelgard crossed her arms, stepping back so her back was against the motor home’s wall. Her expression was displeased, to say the least.

“Two weeks and three days,” Byleth supplied helpfully. “And it’ll only be around three weeks, all in all.”

“I don’t know Byleth. That’s not a lot of time, we would have to take time off, and then all the planning and supplies we would have to buy. I don’t really know a lot about maintaining motor homes. Who’s going to empty the sewage tank—you do have a toilet in this thing right?” Ingrid counted with their fingers as they listed things, their expression now pensive.

“I am thinking that a trip would be a lot of fun! I can be free for three weeks!” Petra practically jumped in her spot, her hands on the table as she tilted forward excited. It was a lifetime opportunity for her, more so considering this wasn’t her birthplace and Fódlan was still a continent to discover. 

Byleth smiled and leaned over on the table to press Petra a kiss on the temple. She wrapped an arm around Petra’s shoulders and tugged her closer so that Byleth could nestle up against her form. “I’m glad you agree, my heart.”

“But of course, my light of my life. There is going to be many things to see! I am excited to be spending more time with everyone. We were being so busy with work lately. I am missing us.” Petra smiled, then turned to meet Dorothea’s eyes in an almost pleading way. “Voice of my spirit, you were saying that you have at least a month before you are having to be at your next production? This is going to be a lot of fun!”

Dorothea looked around the motor home, examining it to see if it was up to her standards. “Well, it isn’t half bad. Jeralt did do a pretty good job with upkeep. But I’m going to need some way of doing laundry on the road. I can’t be stuck in dirty clothes and I don’t want to be held up in a laundromat.”

“They sell tiny washers and dryers, babe,” Ingrid pointed out, folding their arms over their chest.

“Why  _ darling _ it sounds like you are trying to convince me to go on this trip.” Dorothea smirked at them, and Ingrid knew if they were closer she would’ve bumped her hips against them in a playful manner. It was an easy way for Dorothea to convince them into doing something.

It used to do the trick.

“I am doing nothing of that sort, merely stating a fact,” Ingrid retorted, the slightest bit flustered at Dorothea’s teasing. Although they had gotten better at dealing with Dorothea’s tone, there was still some blushing involved. It did not mean they were going to give up so easily, though, or accept going on a trip like that with zero to no planning at all beforehand.

“Why then since you are being so thoughtful and rescuing this  _ damsel in distress _ , I couldn’t possibly let your thoughtfulness go to waste! How could I turn down this  _ amazing _ opportunity to go on this trip with my loves?” A flip of her hair and her signature winking and Dorothea had moved both Petra and Ingrid to the core, enough for them to yield and sigh in defeat, averting their eyes to keep their blushing from worsening.

Like it could help.

Nevertheless Ingrid’s blush did deepen, their crimson-dusted cheeks offering an interesting contrast with her pale features. It was always a sight to behold—and luckily it wasn’t that rare of a sight either. Their mind whirled over the possibilities which were being offered in that moment—and if they would ever totally be able to say “no” to Dorothea. To any of their partners, in all honesty.

Byleth smiled, aware of the powerful ally she had just gained for her cause. Dorothea was a commanding presence and a contender to be feared. She’d convince a goldfish to come on land if she wanted to, lured by the charm in her voice and the brightness of her eyes. Byleth knew the rest should follow easily.

“Some of us can’t just up and go whenever we feel like, we have to request time off and then that has to be approved. It’s not as simple as you think.” Edelgard fumed, crossing her arms and glancing at Byleth with disdain, in a sense.

Sure, she worked for her family company. And yes, that did allow her for some flexibility, all things considered. But that didn’t mean she could automatically use that in her favor and request for some days off whenever she felt like it, on a whim. She took great pride in what she did and knew what the implications of her being away would be. The last thing she wanted was to make others have to do her job, extra hours and the likes. 

“Yeah it’s a long process! I don’t want to piss off my boss already by suddenly asking for days off. I don’t think she’ll give them to me anyway,” Ingrid chimed in, glad to hear another person who saw reason just as they did. It just wasn’t all that feasible, was it?

“Oh you let me handle Shamir, I can pull some strings to get you that time off without any hassle.” Dorothea’s smirk only grew wider as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

“What are you planning, Dorothea?” Ingrid’s voice was cautious and intrigued. They knew better to put something almost miraculous out of Dorothea’s reach.

“Just give me a minute…” Dorothea typed furiously away at her phone, her smile never wavering as she did. There were brightsides of being part of an important company in the theater scene in Enbarr.

Especifically having a direct line to Manuela.

“You can’t just charm your way into getting us  _ all _ days off, dear.”

“Edie, your dad is literally your boss, I don’t think that he would object if you suddenly wanted to take a vacation,” Dorothea pointed out with a knowing smile that caused Edelgard to blush. “Ingrid, darling, honey, baby. It’s been handled. You have the trip days off.”

“What in the name of the goddess have you done?” Ingrid uttered, appalled at how fast the entire issue had been solved. 

Petra peered over Dorothea’s shoulder to look down at her phone, “My dear heart, you are invoking some powerful beings.”

“You did not!!!” Ingrid exclaimed, their cheeks turning red not due to embarrassment this time, but some fury at the entire situation, on how it was being handed. They tried looking at Dorothea’s phone screen to read it, but Dorothea put it out of her sight.

“I did nothing,  _ Manuela on the other hand…”  _ Dorothea said the last part in a singsong voice, waving her hand with the phone on it. Her stance was relaxed and there was a smirk on her lips.

“Dorothea!” 

“See Edie! It’s as easy as a few texts to the right people.”

“And Ionius _ was _ complaining that you don’t take enough time off,” Byleth added, her arms still folded but her eyebrows raised as she said what was obvious to all of them.

Petra’s laughter filled the motor home while Ingrid rubbed their temples but smiled nonetheless. Byleth looked at them and smiled.

Their trip was coming together piece by piece.

“Ooh, I do have his number!” Dorothea gushed, already punching a few letters in her contact list and locating the one she wanted. She turned to wink at Edelgard the second she started typing as fast as she could. Once the message was ready and just needed to be sent, the actress blew Edie a kiss before dramatically hitting the enter button.

“There are company policies! We can’t just bend the rules like that,” her voice was far from her confident self. Edelgard crossed her arms and sighed through her nose, her eyes on the table. She was aware how little space to maneuver she had, how flat her excuses sounded even to herself.

She also realized part of her mind was telling her this wasn’t a bad idea. Three weeks with her family, out there having fun?

That was something she hadn’t done in a while—or forever to be honest.

“Edie, this sounds like you’re just making excuses now. Do you really not want to go on this trip with us? Because if you don’t then we won’t push. Be honest with us.”

“No, no, this trip does sound exciting. It's just a lot and it’s so soon! Two weeks is hardly enough time.”

“There’s five of us, we can divide the work equally over the five of us. How hard could it possibly be?”

* * *

“This is way more difficult than I originally thought it would be,” Dorothea grumbled, looking at the scene before her.

Jeralt’s old map was written on, traced with different kinds of black ink and ripped at the corners out of sheer use. Byleth had tried straightening it up with her hands, while Petra placed glasses in each corner to keep the worn paper as smooth as possible. 

Ingrid and Edelgard had looked at the outdated map, scribbled on and marked by stains of coffee, and pulled up their own phones to look at the convenient map application that was already included in the operating system.

The map of Fódlan, open and spread out across the table and their devices, was an invitation they would never be able to turn down. Petra and Byleth leaned forward from opposite sides of the table, registering the major cities already circled with black ink by Byleth’s father years ago. The same map he had used, possibly outdated and wore down, but still a light of hope to follow to the unknowns of adventure.

Byleth was smiling as she traced the imaginary route with her right index.

The world was theirs to explore and discover.

“Let’s try this again. Where should we start?”

They just needed to sort some details out, of course.

“We’re knowing that Fódlan’s throat is the final destination…” Petra tilted forward, her hips pressing against the table.”... and Enbarr our starting point.” She used her right pinky and thumb to mark both places in the map. Dorothea was quick next to her to offer Petra red and black poker chips. Byleth did her best to hide her smile at the look of disbelief in Ingrid’s face.

Dorothea could produce anything from her purse or pockets and nobody was quite sure how she did it.

“I’m grateful,” Petra said, kissing her softly on the cheek before turning her attention again to the map. She placed both chips in Enbarr and Fódlan’s throat. “We could be going from Enbarr to Remire and crossing Faerghus.” Her skin was a dark tone that made Byleth’s smile grow wider. She loved Petra´s skin.

She loved Petra.

“I am wanting to see Gronder Field, however…”

“Why’s that?” Edelgard uncrossed her arms and moved forward toward Petra, she had been watching silently next to Ingrid, leaning on her shoulder as the discussion took place.

“There’s a site I have been wanting to go to for a long time. I think we can go if we plan it with care.”

“Then…” Ingrid joined them around the table, now a bit too small for four people.

Five when Dorothea joined Byleth's side, her hand resting comfortably on her waist as she eyed the map, interested.

“We could start in Enbarr and go to Gronder Field, before taking the Oghma highway to Remire,” they commented, her finger tracing the way in a V-shaped curve that went through the province of Varley, running next to the mountains that gave the way name before getting to the little dot that was Remire in the map. Byleth hummed approbatory and Dorothea placed two chips more to add to their map.

“That would be a couple of days more in route. We would need to have that in mind while stocking up…” Edelgard pulled up her phone and she took some notes quickly. “Let’s see if there's anything else we’d like to see there before turning back west…”

“So we’re going?” The excitement in Petra’s voice warmed their hearts and made their smiles soft.

“Of course we’re going. It’s something you wish for, right?” Ingrid muffled her purple hair carefully braided before kissing her temple. “Since we’re going to Remire, I think I know what I want to do there.”

“Ingrid, dear, you’re talking about that horse statue, right?” Dorothea knew she was right when she saw how Ingrid blushed. “That’s more than okay! We may also hit the road in time for a concert I’ve been dying to go!”

“And I want to go to the Area 69 Alien Center,” Byleth said, both eyebrows raised when she saw four heads snapping up to look at her.

“Excuse me, the what now?” Edelgard asked, unsure she had heard Byleth right.

“The Area 69 Alien Center, at Lake Teutates,” Byleth stated, simply pointing to the spot on the map. Dorothea sighed through her nose and put a little chip there. She knew better than to ask Byleth what the center was really about and why she wanted to go.

“We can make that, and we’ll be going to Faerghus.” Petra was quick to get her bearings back and mind the map and the possible route. “We could be crossing Fhirdiad and to Leicester by ferry, here.” The little island that was the middle point between Faerghus and Leicester was almost lost in their map and wasn’t marked in Jeral’s old handwriting, black ink showing a route that had already been taken and tested for several years.

But this wasn’t Jeralt’s trip, it was their trip, and they’d shape their own future as they saw fit.

Dorothea placed a chip there and played with the last two she had in her hand. Red and black in her fingers as she poured over the map more involved that she thought she’d be with the whole deciding affair.

“In Leicester it’s an easy way, we could go from Derdriu through Edmund to Fódland’s throat or take a detour and see a little more around the Alliance…” Ingrid made a U-shape in the map, showing where they wanted them to go through and their comment was received with an approval shared by all of them.

“Driving From Enbarr through Adrestria, Faerghus and Leicester and then parallel to Almyra… and making it in time for the Meteor shower.” Byleth traced the route once more, before looking up for their last approval. “Gronder Field, Remire, Lake Teutates, Dorothea’s concert… we can go to all of them.” She was smiling hard when recounting all their ideas, the excitement for the trip growing by the second and bubbling up her stomach. Petra nodded and used a red marker to encircle all of the locations pointed with chips and then connect them with a single line. "It should be..." Byleth measured with her thumb and index the rout they'd follow, somehow keeping a mental estimate. "Around 12,000 or 12,500 kilometers!" Her tone was triumphant, her chest filled with excitement and pride.

“We can be going soon!” She hugged Ingrid and Edelgard, laughing when the blonde muffled her hair and the shorter woman kissed her shoulder.

“Then it’s decided. We have a road to conquer.” Dorothea winked at her girlfriends, never letting go of Byleth’s waist and wishing the table that separated them was gone so she could throw herself in the other’s three embrace.

“We have a road to conquer,” Byleth repeated, rolling up the map and wielding it as a trophy.

Fódlan was theirs to discover and share.

The continent would open itself for those five dorks in love, a promise of memories that would forever bond them in the same path they willingly shared. 

* * *

“Lend me a hand?” Dorothea asked, peeking her head into the room. Petra smiled back to her, following her out of the room and back into the hallway. “You’re going to need shoes.”

Dorothea hummed in the hallway and waited as Petra tugged her shoes on. There were various things piled in it already: clothes they had already packed, some kitchen supplies that the motor home was missing, an inflatable pool that they could keep in case they wanted to go swimming in ten centimeters of water. The excitement only carried them through a third of the packing before they all faded, giving up on running back and forth to the garage and instead settling for keeping their stuff in the hallways.They had done a lot of packing in the past two weeks, even if it was mostly shuffling clothes back and forth between several rooms to get them out of the way.

Once Petra had her shoes on, she and Dorothea took the stairs to the basement of their building. Petra dangled a lanyard of keys from one hand, neither of them nor their partners knowing which one was for the storage in the basement. The keys rattled together as she hopped off the last step, landing on the concrete as her girlfriend followed several steps behind, still texting Ingrid to ask if they knew which key it was.

The basement was dimly lit, it was rarely—if ever—cleaned. Petra coughed as the dust rose, tugging her shirt over her mouth.

“Should we head down there?” Dorothea asked, pointing towards the hall of storage units where a strange mechanical humming was echoing off the walls. “Probably the ghost.”

“The ghost?” Petra asked. “Is there having of ghosts?”

“It’s… the fourth one down?” Dorothea peered ahead, seemingly forgetting about the possibility of her ghosts making an appearance. She turned on the flashlight on her phone, aiding the poor lighting. “Nope, it’s the fifth.” She read their apartment number on the nameplate.

They tried four different keys before the fifth one unlocked the storage area. It wasn’t big—just a small space in their building to stack all the stuff that they didn’t want piling up in their apartment year round. Glancing into the other units, Petra could tell that they didn’t live with as many people. There was actual space to walk into the storage and didn’t have precariously stacked mountains of anything ranging from holiday decorations to winter coats pressing against the metal cage.

“Our goal is suitcases,” Dorothea explained, taking her chances and standing on an old wooden coffee table that came from Ingrid’s old apartment and didn’t make its way into the new one. The wooden legs wobbled, but otherwise held her weight. Petra didn’t dare join her for fear of it collapsing. “They may or may not be under the Christmas tree in the back corner.”

“I didn’t know of having this,” Petra said, carefully stepping her way into the storage, slipping behind a plastic skeleton that at one point adorned their wall during October, but was now missing a left arm and a foot. “We… do not use it often.”

“It’s a lot of shit,” Dorothea said, scurrying from the coffee table to a larger piece of furniture. It was hard to make out what it was, but it also didn’t collapse and served as a better point to crouch and survey the situation. “We should really clean it out when we get back. It couldn’t take  _ too _ long if all of us worked together.”

“We would be needing all ten hands,” Petra picked up a sheet, recoiling slightly when a tiny spider fell out of it. She helped Dorothea get to the back, trying her best not to displace too many of the objects.

It was just layers of dust and memories collected as five lives merged into one in their small apartment. An armchair in the back corner was one that Byleth had in her room as a teenager, Edelgard’s boxes from moving her freshman year still on top of the cushion. Dorothea’s things were the next (although admittedly, she had the most tucked away) practically filling the storage unit before Ingrid and Petra’s things could be laid on top.

“What is this?” Petra shifted through some fabric that was half-buried in the boxes. It was a brilliant red and she could tell it was a cocktail dress. She just wondered why her girlfriend wouldn’t have it up in the apartment with her other captivating evening wear.

Dorothea looked quickly, trying to balance a box of old greeting cards. “Oh! That’s my prom dress.” She paused, not sure if Petra had prom at her own school. “It’s a big formal dance at the end of high school. The students make a big deal over it, but I liked having an excuse to dress formally. Hm… I think I still thought I was monogamous at that point, I don’t believe my date was happy with me flirting with others.”

“You are having a natural tone of flirting.”

“Ex-actly,” Dorothea sounded out the word. She nearly knocked over a terrible lamp that stuck up in the middle of the mess. It had a hideous neon-green lampshade and the wood itself was chipped forest green paint. It was from Ingrid’s last place, a relic of their roommates’ terrible style. Their childhood friends were all sweet, but the four of them combined to make a  _ horrifying _ -looking apartment that built itself around beer boxes as coffee tables. Dorothea used to joke that she and the girls were saving them from the boys as they moved in. “Oh! I see them!”

Dorothea pointed to the suitcases that were stacked behind an old piece of artwork that once adorned Edelgard’s walls back at home. The blues didn’t go with their current bedroom set, so it was left in the storage. Petra texted Byleth once more for help, seeing how buried the luggage was.

“Help me with this, darling,” Dorothea urged. Petra did her best, nearly poking her eye out running into one of Byleth’s older fishing rods. She wasn’t sure how this one ended up in the basement and not at her parents’ home with the rest of the supplies.

By the time Byleth had wandered down the stairs, she found two of her partners with half of the storage unit emptied into the hallway. Dorothea had her hair tied up into a ponytail, and Petra was crouched under several layers of plastic pines.

“What are you doing?” Byleth asked.

“Suitcases, Honey. For the trip.”

“Dad and I usually wouldn’t take many suitcases,” Byleth said, sidestepping the terrible mess and making sure Petra wasn’t on the verge of being caught in an avalanche of the jenga puzzle they had accumulated over the years. “Since there’s not a ton of storage under the floor, we’re not going to need—” she quickly counted out the number of small suitcases that had been freed “—six suitcases.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to buy more. Two per person?” Dorothea asked.

“You’re missing the point.” Byleth hesitated, turning back so she could face Dorothea. “I think we’re going to need… less. We don’t need that many clothes, we’ll be on the road and it’s just us anyways.”

“I want to look cute.”

“You are always looking cute!” Petra returned, voice muffled by the tapestry that was threatening to fall onto her.

“I also need to dress all four of you.”

“You don’t need to,” Byleth said, “we can dress ourselves perfectly fine.”

“You’re wearing Crocs,” Dorothea said with a dramatic sigh. “We’re going to be taking lots of pictures on the road, I want us to all look our best.”

“You are always looking your best.” Byleth tapped on Petra’s hand and they both crawled their way out of the storage unit. Byleth kissed Dorothea, who was still pouting at the decision to not bring the entire closet worth of clothes with them. Dorothea smiled despite herself and kissed back. “I wake up every day to the most beautiful partners and it hardly matters how they are dressed.”

“Or not dressed,” Petra added, Dorothea laughing.

“You also have more of an excuse to wear everyone else’s clothes.”

“Hm,” Dorothea crossed her arms, looking back at the suitcases. “Fine. I’m still getting the washing machine though?”

“Of course.”

* * *

Two weeks and two days, time had flown by as they had prepared everything for the trip. A journey they hadn't planned in advance, a voyage that had been gifted to them and was both a challenge and a blessing.

Two weeks and two days had now turned into one night. Well, four hours to be more exact.

"We should go to sleep a bit earlier tonight," Edelgard had said once the packing and loading was mostly done and only their backpacks remained with them. Just eight hours and they'd be on the road.

They could barely contain their excitement.

The girls had looked at her and nodded emphatically, then tried calling it an early night as soon as they could. They hoped that it meant they would sleep for enough time to not be groggy and moody the next day. On the big day, the one that would kick-start their trip around Fódlan as well. 

However, it was one thing to wish for sleep and do everything one could to ensure a good night, another altogether to actually have one. 

Byleth didn't know if it was because she had been scheduled to wake them all up at around 3 am, despite all jokes that she'd end up oversleeping as always and make it at 3 pm, but she took a long while to fall into a deep slumber. On top of that, she'd woken up quite a few times throughout the night to check the phone for any messages and the hour as well. More than once she had ended up hearing Dorothea and Edelgard, lying next to her on their huge bed, wondering and talking about their arrangements, if they were enough or would prove lacking. 

And of course, if they shouldn't set an alarm to wake up the one who was supposed to act as their alarm clock too. 

Petra and Dorothea had been the most quiet, all things considered. The actress had sung something once or twice, a little lullaby that reminded them all of so many other nights in college when they couldn't sleep and she had done the same. 

Byleth knew the anticipation that sometimes showed up before big events, such as an exam or their graduation party. It felt like something new, however, when she considered what was about to happen and the words her father had said before giving her the keys 

The girls are family too. Yes, she agreed, opening up her eyes for the thousandth time in that night alone and watching them from her vantage point, closest to the bedside table, they were her family. And hell if she wasn't happy with the fact that they had found each other and gone through so much already in those four years that they had been together. 

She was surprised when Edelgard stirred beside her, tightening her grasp around Byleth's waist before moving her head away and setting sleepy lilac eyes on her welcoming blue ones. Edelgard was usually the one who rose before the others and made sure they could wake up—and get out of their dorms—in time for classes and jobs. She usually had a kind way to do so, too, tentatively placing her hand on their shoulder and squeezing a bit before offering them a kiss on the forehead. It was hard not to wake up with a smile after that.

On this particular day, though, Byleth was the one to peck her on the cheek, earning a small beam for the gesture as well. 

"Morning, El," Byleth whispered, combing her hair with slow movements. They did have a set time that they'd rather get out of the house, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy some leisure minutes before that. "Did you sleep?"

"Good morning, By," she mumbled back, stifling a yawn. She placed a hand on the taller woman's forearm and squeezed. "In a sense, I suppose. What time is it anyways?" 

Byleth shrugged and remembered she had been about to grab her mobile and check it, before being distracted by the other girl. Hence she turned around and picked up her phone as silently as she could, her motions slowed down by the effort. After unlocking the screen, she gave a small, mocking gasp that had the desired effect of making Edelgard's eyes widen the slightest. 

"H-how late is it?" she inquired, even though the room was dark and it didn't seem like any light at all was coming from the outside world. Maybe they  _ should  _ have set an alarm after all.

Byleth turned to face her, then deadpanned: "Three am. We did it."

Although that was received with a playful slap to her arm, there was still a smirk instead of a scowl on Edelgard's face. She shook her head, then added, "we should wake up the others too, then."

"One by one?" Byleth asked, tilting her head the moment Edelgard turned around and slowly ran her hands up and down Dorothea's arms, calling her name in a soft voice. "I can act as a real alarm clock, though."

Dorothea was already stirring and hugging Edelgard, cradling her closer for comfort when those words registered in her mind. She opened her eyes and almost jolted to a sitting position, remembering another time when things hadn't gone too well the moment Byleth said she'd wake them up.

"Oh no, you won't get away with blasting "Nyan Cat" or whatever you've been listening to in a loop this time around, dear," the actress said, causing Edelgard to chuckle and sit up as well. "I still have headaches whenever I listen to that song because of you."

"I am having the nightmares with infant shark to this day," Petra agreed in a raucous voice as she finally moved around.

She had been up for a while, thinking about how incredible it was that the day had finally arrived and she'd get to know more about that continent. The one that at first seemed to shun her, a thought she had entertained a bit too long on those first few days and months spent there. Until she realized it was more about some people she had been unfortunate enough to meet and trust, not those lands by themselves. 

Besides, soon afterwards she had met the girls, her family, the ones which had accepted her from moment one and treated her with all the respect and love she deserved, no matter where in the world she happened to be. And then her mind had quieted, her heart humming softly with the love she felt for them.

"That's why we should have put Edelgard on alarm clock duty," Ingrid mumbled, moving their legs between Petra and Dorothea and being careful not to hit anyone.

She hadn't slept a lot either, but that was due to a nice, cozy feeling blooming in her chest at the thought of them. Of the love they shared and all the acceptance that had been there in each and every moment. What a contrast it was to those around them, who had judged and tried to label Ingrid when they themselves had no idea what to do with their feelings. With the girls there was never a moment when they felt questioned or scrutinized with callous interest rather than a soft wish to know and help. 

And now they would hit the road in a few minutes, if everything went according to the plan.

"Now that we're awake, thankfully without the need of an obnoxious song, who wants to get some breakfast?" Edelgard inquired and was received with four bobbing heads.

"I'll hit the shower first though. Don't wanna miss the last opportunity to take a decent one here," Dorothea answered with a wink, rolling away from the bed and into her feet.

There was a moment of silence when she realized she'd slept with nothing but Byleth's shirt on, which ended in her mid-thighs. She turned back and saw her girls staring, as they usually did when she woke up a bit underdressed, then met each of their gazes and winked before kissing all of them on the cheek. Her heart melted at that, not so much due to the attention but the way they cutely reacted to her antics and had always been supportive and loving to her. 

The family she had lost was nothing at all when compared to the one she had found and been accepted into. 

After Dorothea was out of the door, the others jumped out of the bed and started moving as well. Ingrid and Petra stretched, a bit too tired after not enough sleep, but soon got their clothes and changed before following Byleth to the kitchen. Edelgard took her time making sure everything they would need had already been packed and taken away to the motor home, so that only a few, last minute items remained.

She took hold of those, such as brushes, books they had been reading and shoes, placed them over the dining table and then went back to the room to change. She beamed and sighed, staring at the mattress they had just shared and remembering the first time she had climbed in bed with them. It was funny now to remember her fear, the apprehension that her boundaries would be overstepped the way they had been in the past, by those who had claimed to love and want the best for her. 

And then the surprise as they weren't, when she was still allowed and actually told to be herself, that she was fine and everything was ok. Now there she was, so many years later, about to go with her family on a trip around Fódlan. It would be interesting to see how that would go and how they would feel away from home, too. The apartment they had loved and nourished into a proper home would wait, yes, but it was nice to know they had such a place to come back to. 

Edelgard got to the kitchen just in time to see Dorothea playfully snatch a slice of toast away from Ingrid, when they were busy gathering cheese and ham to go with it. Everyone else laughed while Ingrid protested, but in the end blushed a deep crimson the moment Dorothea fed them.

Eventually they were done and ready to go, as properly fed as they could be given the impromptu breakfast and the fact that Byleth wasn't that good of a cook to begin with. As most of them waited for the elevator, already outside the place, Petra made sure that nothing was being forgotten and all lights were turned off (a good thing, since Byleth had indeed kept the kitchen lights on).

After a last cursory glance, she went out with her handbag and locked the apartment behind her, twice for luck and just to be sure. She chuckled when she saw how big Dorothea's handbag was when compared to everyone else's, sharing a knowing glance with the others while the actress hummed, then held the elevator door open for them to slide in. As always it was somewhat of a tight fit, even more so with the bags and how they were a bit antsy, eager to get started and put Enbarr behind them.

It was something else to see the motor home tucked away in the garage when they finally got to it. Sure, they had been close to the vehicle a lot for the last few days, trying to clean some mud that had stayed glued over it after too many other trips, or smooth away the places where the white paint was striped with scratches, all memories of the Eisners' past adventures. Not all of it was salvageable, but that was fine for them in any case. 

Yet in that silent, dark night made darker in the grey, dull concrete garage, they were excited anew at the vision of the motor home, their home for the next weeks. As Byleth fumbled around her flimsy blue pants that had pockets both in front and back, looking for the keys, the others stated and shifted their weight around, anticipation building up for a trip that hadn't been planned, but deserved all the same. 

It was unlocked a second later and they climbed in through the driver's side, then stepped between the seats to get to some chairs which stood behind it, two on each side. Even though they had taken a cursory glance inside the motor home a few times, it was something else to be there and notice the tall, ample windows that surrounded them and how higher up they were from the ground when compared to a usual car.

Something that completely took Ingrid aback and made them stay a tad too long on the driver's seat, feeling the white leather underneath them and the soft steering wheel under their palms. Even though the view from the garage was plain, with mostly black and white cars lying here and there on their spots, it was amazing how different it felt to be behind the steering wheel like that. They couldn't step aside, no matter how there were giggles at their back and a small chuckle from Byleth, who still remained outside.

"Heeey I'll let you drive later. Promise. Just let me in now," Byleth uttered, a small pout that turned to a beam when she saw how excited Ingrid looked as the driver. She meant that, too, even though there was still some sort of fear in her at that prospect. It was Jeralt's motor home to begin with and she didn't want anything bad to happen to it.

Never mind the fact that she was the one who got most speeding tickets in the entire house, but that was another matter altogether.

Ingrid grunted and complied, moving to the passenger's seat and sighing as soon as Petra's hands fell on her shoulders. 

"You will be doing the driving someday? Do not be going too slow please, or we may be getting late to the meteors," Petra said, laughing alongside the others the moment Ingrid protested. They were the most careful driver after all, even on the road. 

"Hmpf, just last well someone was honking at you for going too slow," they grumbled, happy to hear more chuckles following that as well as Byleth closing the door and starting the engine with a quick turn of the keys.

"Is everyone set?" Byleth turned around to ask, her face opening in a wide beam the moment she saw the four of them nodding and smiling in encouragement at her. Her family, the ones she loved and trusted with her entire heart, her whole life. 

With excitement in her mind, love rushing through her heart and blood thudding at her ears at the thought of being gone, she pulled away and soon was freed of the garage, of the building and, after a few minutes, of the city itself, which faded behind her as some shy, hopeful light started creeping on the horizon which spread in front of them.

_ A while later… _

Once the initial excitement of leaving Enbarr had set in and the motion of the vehicle itself was too much to resist, most of the girls had been lulled to sleep, almost a given after the bad night they had had. 

The thing was, they had promised to watch the sunrise together, at least that first one as a sign of good luck, or a way to celebrate that beginning. And that was going to happen… a few minutes from then. 

It was sheer luck that made Byleth remember this, as she had been bopping to her own playlist playing softly through the old stereo system, her mind mostly on the road in front of her and the few cars that cruised idly and small, albeit faster, to her right, where she could also see a forest of sorts. To the left there was a fast running river and some plants and tall grass, some houses and others signs of human life that had put up its roots by the riverbed. 

She had thought about growing roots, before. About committing to someone and someplace, getting a nice and stable job, spending her days doing that and her nights with that person. The thought had disgusted her more than everything else, even if it was what most people were told to do, or that it was the surefire way to a happy and successful life. Now, as she glimpsed at her four girls napping around her parents' motor home, she understood that dream really wasn't what would make her happy. That her path was another and involved not one, but other four hearts that had wound themselves with hers. 

And that would miss what was promising to be an amazing sunrise all things considered, what with how clean the sky was and how, slowly, stars started going away as the sky got lighter. Dark blue changed to purple, orange, pink and strong yellow once the sun started peeking through the horizon.

And she was running out of time to do something and get their attention.

"Ingrid? Ingriiiiiid?" she called after turning around to the one beside her. They grunted and edged away from her touch, mumbling something about being left alone. 

Oh great. Now what? Before, she had had Edelgard to help with the others and there wasn't a steering wheel in her hands. Ingrid wouldn't wake up even if their life depended on it and the others were a bit too far to be reached, too. 

Looking around, her eyes fell on her mobile and low volume that the stereo was currently playing at that didn’t seem to disturb her girls as Byleth listened to her very peculiar taste in music. Her eyes widened and she grimaced at what she would have to do. 

They would certainly kill her, she thought as she upped the volume a little bit in order to listen to the lyrics, just so she wouldn’t pass through the right moment, then waited a few minutes until the sky got lighter. But at least they wouldn't miss the sunrise at all.

Three seconds later the motor home was flooded with music and screams as the four girls were woken up in a rather abrupt way, to a chorus of:

"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM, I WANT YOU IN MY ROOM!"

"Byleth whyyyyy?" Dorothea asked, holding Edelgard in a bit of a death grip. At least the driver turned the volume back down to a reasonable level one second later, too. "I was having such a good dream."

"You're gonna miss the sunrise," Byleth deadpanned, her expression sheepish even though she had giggled at their reaction before. 

"Why didn't you just wake me u—oh, my bad," Ingrid started, then remembered that they had indeed been called a few minutes before. They gave a small smile and turned away to look at the sky above and the horizon in front of them. "You have to admit that this is very beautiful, though."

"I'll pretend you're not deflecting, for some reason," Edelgard commented, hands caressing Dorothea's back and pulling Petra closer as well. "Even more so since this is indeed nice."

"This reminds me of the day beginnings in Brigid," Petra whispered in awe, even more so when the sky started becoming clearer, more blue than orange and purple, and only a few stars remained behind them. 

In front of them was the new, the unexpected, the adventures they would find as heaven and earth, sky and land met to make the world they would explore. Behind them were all they had experienced, apart and together as well.

Together, as the family that they were, they would face whatever came next and support each other through it all. Just as the sun now illuminated what a few minutes ago had been dark, so would their love shine upon the shadows of doubt, of hatred and fear. And upon that trip that they had just started on a nice, chilling day.

12495 kilometers on the trip. 

12169 kilometers left to go.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> MOTHER WE HAVE DONE SOMETHING! Happy birthday! We hope you like love this little thing we put together, dorky and cute over all! I can’t begin to explain how important your encouragement and energy has been for me all these months! I cherish your messages and your presence in my life so so so much that giving you something as little as words it’s the least I can do, after all it was your doing that we got to know and meet all these amazing talented writers and exceptional friends! Lots of love :3!! / KR (Your dorky child)
> 
> Hi mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Happy birthday! Hope you enjoy this angst free (sad) lil gift we wrote and all the dumb jokes we wrote. You’re great and so nice and kind and always looking us for us beans. I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to join the fun lottle project that you and dad made and got to meet you and all these other wonderful people as a result! You had a hand in bringing us all together (and I feel probably naming the chaos squad?) So now on this day of your birth we have used our powers for good (for now). Catan again soon! - cafe_au_late/ Reun your favourite child hehe *dabs*
> 
> Mom! Happy birthday!!! We wanted to make something special for your birthday and it kind of absolutely evolved, but I really hope that you like this <3 I’m so grateful for all that you’ve done for the Olympics project and I could never imagine what the rest of my summer would have been without meeting you and all the others working on it! You made me feel comfortable and at home from day one, so I hope you enjoy our polyam kiddos and that you have had a wonderful day <3 --writingwithmolls/your other favourite child alkfdjs
> 
> Mooooooom! Happy birthday to you! Thank you so so much for everything and for all the help not only in the Olympics but in general too. Thanks for welcoming us, our chaotic nature and getting us together. Sorry not sorry for making you the slightest bit confused by our name changes and jokes but hey, you've raised us well. Love you so much and thanks for being so caring and accepting! Here's a polyfic for you! Have a great day and I hope you enjoy it. :3 LinaLuthor/ Lina, the middle sib 
> 
> Happy birthday mom! Thank you for introducing me to the greatest family a queer could ask for. Your encouragement and support mean the world and I’m grateful to know you! Have a great day! Chaos squad loves you! - edelgard_eisner/ Moni the responsible child
> 
> [We've also included the map that the brilliant Kuro_Ookami edited for us! The blank map that was used can be found here https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/cw617t/made_a_simple_map_of_f%C3%B3dlan/]


End file.
